Mayo began providing health insurance benefits to employees in same-sex partnerships in 2000. That policy stated that if same-sex marriage became legal in the state in which a couple live, they would be required to get married in order to continue receiving those benefits.

Dr. Sharonne Hayes, Mayo’s director of diversity and inclusion, said Mayo wanted to set a deadline for the policy change that would give employees plenty of time to plan.

“What we really wanted to do was give our employees plenty of time to have the kind of marriage they want and not rush into it,” she said.